Help Politifact police the pundits: suggest facts to check from the O'Reillys and Olbermanns of the world

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but there are times when pundits don't tell the whole truth on these cable TV news shows.

For example, Fox News blowhard Bill O'Reilly is telling a falsehood when saying he never called murdered abortion doctor George Tiller a baby killer, but simply reported what others called him. (Fact: he used the term 24 times in the past four years.)

And Joe Scarborough's claim that PresidentBarack Obama has never received a paycheck from a profitmaking business in his life ignores the president's income from his two books, along with his work for a Chicago law firm and in construction, among other gigs. Rachel Maddow got it wrong when she suggested Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin led the call for the state's Democratic senator to resign.

Fortunately, the St. Petersburg Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking Web site, PolitiFact, is ready to help. Along with analyzing progress on more than 500 promises made by President Obama during the campaign, PolitiFact is now taking a closer look at the arguments made by pundits on political TV and radio talk shows.

But they would like your help.

So send them claims you would like to see vetted. E-mail to truthometer@politifact.com. You can see some of the claims they've vetted already by clicking here, from confirming George Will's assertion that $325-billion spent in the toxic assets program hasn't been used to acquire toxic assets, to debunking Rush Limbaugh's claim that every speech George Washington gave references God.

It's hard to know how well this may be received by fans, who seem mostly to watch pundits telling them what they want to hear. But I admire PolitiFact for trying to bring a little sense and accountability to an increasingly hysterical arena.

Time to start holding some of our broadcasters to the same standard we hold our politicians.

About the blog

The Feed is your source for television news, reviews and commentary. A group of Tampa Bay Times writers will blog about everything from their current TV obsessions to the changing TV/media landscape (binge-watching galore!). Let's all geek out over our favorite shows together.

As a wee TV fanatic, Times pop music critic Sean Daly first learned to tell time via Lee Majors classic "The Six Million Dollar Man." On family trips, instead of asking "Are we there yet?" he would inquire of his parents: "How many more Six's?" Thus, the concept of an hour. Adorable, right? Not nearly as cute: An adult Sean wears a Tigers hat not to support Detroit but because Tom Selleck wore one on "Magnum, P.I." It's sad really.

Michelle Stark is a Times writer, editor, designer and unabashed TV nerd. Her millennial TV-watching habits rely on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon instead of traditional cable, but she never misses her favorite shows, which include everything from Girls, Parenthood and New Girl to high-minded dramas like Mad Men and Homeland. She never met a reality dance show competition she didn’t like.

Sharon Kennedy Wynne is a Times writer and editor part of that first generation of toddlers raised on Sesame Street. Her TV tastes are eclectic. She's still a big fan of Sesame Street, but also darker fare like American Horror Story and Scandal. As our resident reality TV fan (though she's ashamed to admit it), she has complex theories on Survivor, Amazing Race and Big Brother strategies.